The present invention relates to apparatus for retaining and cooling computer components. More specifically, the invention relates to mechanisms for cooling microprocessors and their associated voltage regulators.
Because microprocessors generate a significant amount of heat, computers that contain them rely upon various cooling mechanisms to dissipate the heat that they produce. Those mechanisms include different types of fans, heat sinks, heat spreaders, and ducting for delivering a cooling fluid (e.g., air) to the microprocessors for heat exchange. In addition to microprocessors, other computer components may produce heat that must be eliminated. One such component is the voltage regulator that converts a relatively high DC voltage to the relatively low DC voltage that microprocessor operation requires.
Computers generally segregate the microprocessor from the voltage regulator. As a result, the voltage regulator may need its own discrete cooling apparatus, which may include a separate heat sink and several additional parts required for assembly. Employing separate cooling mechanisms for the microprocessor and its associated voltage regulator adds cost and complexity to the overall cooling solution. Accordingly, there is a need for an integrated cooling assembly that serves to dissipate heat from both a microprocessor and a voltage regulator. There is also a need for such a device that can retain a microprocessor heat sink. The present invention provides such a device.